Two arrested in fatal shooting

Published: Wednesday, April 9, 1997 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 9, 1997 at 12:00 a.m.

Police arrested and charged two more men in connection with the fatal shooting of a Union man Sunday.

Paul Branson Matthews, 60, of 315 Eaves Road, Whitmire, and Larry Kenneth Smith, 29, of 252 Eaves Road, were charged Tuesday with first degree lynching in James Trevor Phillips' death. Phillips, 30, of 127 Toney Road, Union, died after being shot several times during an argument outside an Eaves Road residence about 10 miles south of Union in the Whitmire community. Phillips may have been struck by bullets from more than one gun, said Union County Sheriff Howard Wells. Both Matthews and Smith were arrested Tuesday afternoon. Matthews was picked up at his home and Smith turned himself in at the sheriff's office. Wells said neither Matthews nor Smith fired a gun in the killing, but investigators believe both had a hand in Phillips'death. ``They were a part of the altercation the shooting evolved from,'' he said. According to state law, firstdegree lynching is defined as any act of violence inflicted on one person by a mob which results in the death of that person. John Henry Holden, 37, of 267 Eaves Road, Whitmire, and Jessie Gene Conner, 25, of 4345 West McConnells Highway, Sharon, were charged with Phillips' murder earlier in the week.

<p> Police arrested and charged two more men in connection with the fatal shooting of a Union man Sunday.</p><p>Paul Branson Matthews, 60, of 315 Eaves Road, Whitmire, and Larry Kenneth Smith, 29, of 252 Eaves Road, were charged Tuesday with first degree lynching in James Trevor Phillips' death. Phillips, 30, of 127 Toney Road, Union, died after being shot several times during an argument outside an Eaves Road residence about 10 miles south of Union in the Whitmire community. Phillips may have been struck by bullets from more than one gun, said Union County Sheriff Howard Wells. Both Matthews and Smith were arrested Tuesday afternoon. Matthews was picked up at his home and Smith turned himself in at the sheriff's office. Wells said neither Matthews nor Smith fired a gun in the killing, but investigators believe both had a hand in Phillips'death. ``They were a part of the altercation the shooting evolved from,'' he said. According to state law, firstdegree lynching is defined as any act of violence inflicted on one person by a mob which results in the death of that person. John Henry Holden, 37, of 267 Eaves Road, Whitmire, and Jessie Gene Conner, 25, of 4345 West McConnells Highway, Sharon, were charged with Phillips' murder earlier in the week.</p>